


Holo is Stored in the Symbiote

by Guardian



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Crack, Established Relationship, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Hobbies, Holosexual Venom, Humor, M/M, Nail Polish, Venom is a brat, YouTube
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-24 13:38:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17101601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Guardian/pseuds/Guardian
Summary: You know what would make this even better?Venom asks, every time they finish painting Eddie's nails.Eddie takes a breath and lets it out. "A holo tac--"A HOLO TACO.And then Venom slathers as much glitter as they possibly can over whatever design they'd just finished, until his nails are practically a disco ball.But Venom's right.Holodoesmake everything look better.





	Holo is Stored in the Symbiote

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Strozzzi (butmicoooool)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/butmicoooool/gifts).



> Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Strozzzi! I hope you enjoy this fic; I had a lot of fun writing it ♥
> 
> Prompt: Venom painting Eddie's nails

**_Bored, Eddie._ **

That's the second most common complaint that Eddie hears from his other, the first being the symbiote's near constant hunger. If Venom isn't hungry, they're bored, and if they're bored, they're hungry again.

"I know, pal, I'm sorry, but I got this deadline," Eddie says, gesturing to his laptop screen. "Is there anything I can get you? Like a toy, or--"

**_Toy? We are not a child or a pet, Eddie,_ ** Venom sniffs indignantly and then sulks.

"Sorry," Eddie says, trying to think of what else to offer, but he's got nothing in his head except for his looming deadline. "I'll be done in a few hours, alright bud?"

Venom doesn't answer. The symbiote entertains itself by manifesting on Eddie's skin, clinging to him for attention, but Eddie is used to Venom's presence by now, even when they start to melt dramatically off of him, dripping onto the floor and pooling there as if they're literally dying from boredom. Then, when Venom is on the floor, they find a stray bottlecap and start batting it around like a kitten.

Not a child or a pet, Eddie thinks to himself while Venom is distracted. Okay, then.

But he's grateful for the distraction and makes a note to be more prepared the next time he's unable to give Venom his undivided attention.

  


\---

  


Eddie finds little things for Venom to tinker with, but nothing pans out. Instead of solving the wooden mind puzzle, Venom chews on it. Instead of chewing on the squeaky toy, Venom dissects it to see what's inside, and then pouts because it's broken.

"How about this?" Eddie asks, opening a tub of slime he'd picked up from the store and pouring it out into his hand.

He thinks the symbiote might be intrigued by something on Earth that has a similar texture to themself. But Venom takes one look at the glittery slime slowly oozing over Eddie's fingers and asks him in an acidic tone,  **_How long have you been seeing this harlot?_ **

Venom won't talk to him for the rest of the evening. 

Later that night, if Eddie notices the slime has disappeared from its tub, or that the symbiote is speckled through with flecks of glitter when they push against his hand to be petted, he doesn't mention it.

  


\---

  


**_Hungry, Eddie._ **

"No you're  _ not, _ we literally just ate an entire pizza!"

**_Hungryyy._ **

"You're not hungry, you're just bored!"

**_..._ **

**_Bored, Eddiiiiee._ **

"Augh!"

  


\---

  


The crosswords book seems to be a hit, but five minutes later Venom announces he's done and Eddie realizes that instead of actually writing words, the symbiote has just scribbled random squiggles into every box.

"You're supposed to write the  _ correct  _ answer, V," Eddie says. "You didn't even try."

**_I can't fucking read._ **

Eddie apologizes by letting Venom have his phone to watch YouTube videos instead.

  


\---

  


The fidget spinner was a bad idea. He got it cheap after the fad had died down, but now Eddie understands why that craze had come and gone so quickly. After only a couple spins, Venom had exclaimed,  **_That's all it does?!_ ** And the next thing Eddie knew, the metal spinner was embedded in the drywall of his apartment.

"Okay, murder pudding, that's a time out," Eddie sighs, trying very hard to contain his anger.

**_A what?_ **

Eddie doesn't answer as he rummages through his apartment. He finds what he's looking for in his junk drawer, and pulls out a roll of masking tape.

**_What are you doing?_ ** Venom asks, while Eddie marks off a circular shape on the floor of his apartment.

"If you want to act like a brat, I'm going to treat you like one," Eddie says. "Get in the circle."

**_It's not a circle, it has straight edges._ **

"Get in the fucking circle, V."

Venom oozes down his leg and across the floor, pooling in the center of the circle until they form a round blob with white eyes, still connected to Eddie by a bare thread of black.

**_Is this a game, Eddie?_ ** Venom questions, almost a little excited.

"It's a time out. You gotta sit in the circle for 5 minutes. If you try to leave, I'm adding another minute."

**_Don't like this game, Eddie,_ ** Venom says, blinking pathetic eyes at him.

"It's not a game, it's a punishment. Bad slimes stay inside the circle until they can behave."

Eddie sets a timer and sits down at his desk to work on one of his stories while Venom is in time out. From the corner of his eye, he can see the blob of black slide towards the edge of the circle and test the boundary.

"No," Eddie scolds, and Venom scoots away, sulking for a while until Eddie goes back to work. They try again almost immediately, as if he can't see. "No, bad symbiote!"

**_This is just tape. I can leave this circle at any time,_ ** Venom says, confused and a little defiant.

"Yes," Eddie admits. "You can. But if you do, I'm gonna sell the TV and you'll have nothing to watch while I'm sleeping."

**_That isn't fair! You sleep for so long!_ **

  


Eddie doesn't react, just lets Venom complain.

  


**_You are a terrible and mean host and you don't appreciate anything I do._ **

**_..._ **

**_At least the cartoon Explorer girl on the TV talks to me!_ **

**_..._ **

**_I'm not going to stay in here, Eddie. You can't expect me to._ **

**_..._ **

**_You wouldn't really sell the TV, would you?_ **

**_..._ **

**_I get bored without you, Eddie._ **

**_…_ **

**_I'm sorry I threw the spinning metal thing._ **

  


Eddie looks at Venom, who looks very much like a pitiful glob melted on the floor, small and dejected.

"Come here, buddy," Eddie says, picking up his phone and turning off the timer with nearly two minutes left on it.

The black blob on the floor perks up a little, but doesn't budge.   **_Tricks, Eddie?_ **

"No, this isn't a trick. It's been five minutes," Eddie lies. "You did good, pal, you're a good slime, you can come back now."

Venom flows back to Eddie in a rush, pouring over his feet and up his body, sinking through his clothes, covering him in warm, clingy layer of goo.

**_Not a slime,_ ** Venom objects.

"Okay, not a slime," Eddie agrees, even as he kneads his fingers through the symbiote's malleable form.

"You know…" Eddie begins, gently stretching and pushing at Venom's gooey body. "You could make suggestions, too. I don't know what you like if you don't tell me."

Venom hums out a rumbling sort of indecisive purring sound.

**_Don't know what I like._ **

"Okay. Well, if anything interests you, let me know. I'm running out of ideas."

**_Okay,_ ** Venom agrees, and stays pliant under Eddie's hands for a long time while Eddie goes back to contemplating his latest article.

**_Eddie?_ **

"Yeah?"

**_Can I watch videos on your phone tonight instead of the TV?_ **

"Why?"

**_Only so many shows on TV. Millions of videos on YouTube._ **

Eddie only ponders that for a second. If Venom would rather watch viral cat videos or whatever, it's not a big deal, because at least he can afford an unlimited data plan.

"Just make sure it's charged by morning, okay pal?"

**_Okay._ **

  


\---

  


**_Eddie. Eddie. Eddie._ **

Eddie wakes up just before his alarm to see the symbiote sitting on his chest like an inky blob, white eyes staring at him, holding his phone in web-like strands.

**_Have an interest, Eddie,_ ** Venom says.  **_Saw it on the YouTube._ **

"What is it?" Eddie asks, still groggy from sleep but willing to indulge whatever will keep his partner occupied.

**_A knife, heated to one thousand degrees._ **

Eddie is fully awake within half a second.

"No."

**_Eddiiiieeee,_ ** Venom whines.

"Absolutely not," Eddie says, sitting up and pulling his phone out of Venom's sticky grasp. "Think of something less destructive and I'll agree." He unlocks his phone and realizes the battery is at 5%. "And make sure you keep my phone plugged in!"

  


\---

  


**_Eddie. Eddiiiieee,_ ** Venom's voice whispers in his head, the symbiote oozing over his shoulders while he cooks dinner.

"What is it, love?" Eddie questions, feeling thready little tendrils brush through his hair.

**_Grow your hair long, Eddie?_ **

He snorts softly, smiling as Venom keeps petting his head.. "Sure but that would take a while.. What's up?"

Venom shows Eddie a video on his phone.  _ Ten Cute Braided Hairstyles For Back To School!!! _

**_Hair tutorials,_ ** Venom purrs.

"Oh. Wow, that looks complicated," Eddie says, gawking at the intricate hairstyle being done by a girl who looked no older than twelve. "I can't grow my hair overnight, but I'll find you something, he promises.

**_Are you sure?_ ** Venom asks, swiping on the screen and then showing Eddie results for dozens of videos claiming to 'Grow your hair overnight!'

"You haven't learned what clickbait is yet, huh?" Eddie laughs. "I can't, V, but if I could I'd let you put braids in my hair, alright? It looks really dope, thanks for showing me. What else you got?"

Venom shows Eddie more videos while their food finishes cooking, and then while they sit down to eat, heads bent together to watch the same screen, marveling over cool compilations of amazing tricks and feats, and laughing at viral 'gone wrong' videos.

The next day, Eddie gets Venom a doll with long hair meant for playing with, and pins and hair ties, and for a while the symbiote is completely obsessed. Like any beginner, Venom struggles at first, having to learn how to even grasp the hair to make very easy braids at first. But the symbiote has a steep learning curve, and after hours with various tutorials it isn't long before the messy and simple results turn into flawless weaves that hurt Eddie's brain to think about.

There's upside down french braids and waterfall braids and fishtails and twisted ladders and halos and plaits. Eddie is blown away by each one, but eventually Venom has tried all the styles they were interested in, and gets bored, and one day Eddie notices Venom coloring on the doll's tiny fingertips with a sharpie instead.

"New interest?" Eddie asks, taking a break from his work to watch Venom.

**_Painting nails._ **

"Heh. I used to color in my nails with a marker when I got bored, too. Dad got mad at me, though," Eddie says, fondly. "But I think you're supposed to use nail polish."

**_This doll is too small,_ ** Venom says.  **_And we do not have nail polish anyway._ **

"Well," Eddie considers, scratching at his head. "There's an easy cure for that."

  


\---

  


The next time Eddie goes to the store, he picks up an assortment of nail polish, little 99 cent bottles in several colors,  and he plops himself down on the couch and the bag down on the coffee table and tells Venom to go to town.

The symbiote is so excited they practically vibrate out of him and clutch at all of the little bottles in wonder.  **_Really, Eddie? For real?_ **

"Yeah, buddy, I'm for real. Make me pretty," Eddie says, offering his hand for Venom to use.

The symbiote is shaky with the brush, and the color pools unevenly across Eddie's nails and onto his skin.

"It's fine," Eddie reassures them when Venom looks surprised and ashamed. "Keep going."

In the end, almost every nail is a different color -- a messy black, and midnight blue, and an uneven metallic gold, and a lime green, and a hot pink, and a silver that turns out to only be pieces of glitter, and so on.

"Just realized I should've bought that nail polish remover stuff," Eddie considers, not because of the colors but because the amount of polish on his skin is uncomfortable, and some of the nails immediately smudge into oblivion even after they had seemed to be completely dry.

**_Sorry, Eddie._ **

"Hey, don't be sorry buddy," Eddie asserts. "You're trying new things, and I'm learning with you. You had fun, right?"

**_Yes! It was fun,_ ** Venom says, their tongue curling in the air.

Eddie leans forward and gives Venom a kiss. "Then don't apologize. I'll get more stuff tomorrow and then you'll be able to try again."

  


\---

  


Over the next couple of days, they both learn a lot about nail polish. It's not as simple as Eddie had expected. At first Venom is frustrated and feels incompetent at such an easy task, but they both come to realize that not all nail polish is created equal.

Some of the colors are runny and thin, and would need a ridiculous number of layers to become opaque.

Some of them start to chip and flake almost immediately.

Some come with brushes that are impossible to work with.

Others stain Eddie's nails even after being removed.

And worse, a couple colors never dry completely, no matter what.

"Sorry, V," Eddie says, while Venom cleans off another failed attempt.

**_Why should you be sorry? The polishes are bad._ **

"Yeah, and I got them. I wanted this to be fun for you, and it isn't fun."

**_We are both learning,_ ** Venom says.  **_The blue color works well._ **

"Yeah, at least that one is good," Eddie agrees. "I guess you get what you paid for at 99 cents a bottle."

When Eddie's nails are clean and dry, Venom starts over again, this time all in midnight blue. When it's dry, Venom takes the silver sparkles and drags it over the top, but the fresh nail polish makes the layer underneath smudge and ruin and Venom bristles in frustration.

"Crap. This stuff is terrible," Eddie says. "How do those women in the videos make it look so easy?"

**_Witches,_ ** Venom says.  **_Watermarbling witches._ **

Eddie doesn't understand what that means, and isn't sure he wants to ask.

  


\---

  


It physically hurts to spend more than five dollars on a bottle of nail polish, but Eddie wants to give it one last shot, and if the more expensive stuff doesn't work, then he doesn't know what to think. Venom hasn't stopped consuming YouTube videos on the subject, spending all night watching tutorial after tutorial.

"Which ones do you want? You can choose three."

Venom picks a gunmetal color, and a dark red, and a bottle that costs over ten dollars, but shifts from purple to green in the light, and Eddie has to admit he's just as fascinated with it as Venom is.

"Okay, good?" Eddie questions, and Venom agrees, but in their way out of the aisle, another bottle catches the symbiote's attention.

**_Holo! Holo! Real holo,_ ** the symbiote repeats feverishly, forcing Eddie to go back and snatching a bottle of polish off the shelf.

"We've got glitter at home," Eddie says, but Venom won't stop shoving it in his face.

**_Holo, Eddie! This has holo!_ **

"Yeah, I don't-- I hear you, buddy, but I don't know what the hell 'holo' means," Eddie says. "It's glitter, it's a glitter."

**_Holo glitter. Rainbows, Eddie,_ ** Venom says, tilting the bottle over and over again so Eddie can see the colors catching the light.  **_Stuff at home is only silver. This is RAINBOWS. I need it, Eddie. Need it, pleeease._ **

Eddie tries to tell Venom to put something else back, but Venom keeps insisting that it's a 'top coat' and they need all four. It's another cheap polish, well under the five dollar mark, and when Eddie realizes that, he relents.

"Just don't be sad if it doesn't work well."

  


\---

  


It's almost a miracle the first time a polish dries down within a minute.

**_Ohhh. This is good, Eddie. *Like* this._ **

"Yeah?" Eddie inspects the color, watching it shift from purple to green in the light. "I like it, too."

**_You know what this needs? A holo taco._ **

"A what now?"

**_Holo taco! Holo taco! Holo taco!_ ** Venom chants, and grabs the bottle of holo glitter top coat and coats every nail until they sparkle.

From a short distance, it actually looks really good.

"Happy?" Eddie asks.

**_Very happy, yes, thank you,_ ** Venom purrs, and lets Eddie pet them, until half an hour later, they both realize that a couple of nails had smudged.

"Oops. Sorry. It's hard to wait," Eddie says, but Venom doesn't really complain because it gives them the opportunity to paint two of Eddie's fingers again.

  


\---

  


After that, things start to click. Venom learns that it's better to do a couple thin coats of polish and be patient with it, than to try to apply one thick goopy layer all at once. And to avoid smudging the top coat, they learn to only touch the nail with the drop of polish itself and not drag the brush. They even manage to make some of the 99 cent polishes work a lot better, with patience and care, and Eddie buys a few more shades at a time so his other can keep experimenting.

**_Stay still,_ ** Venom murmurs, holding Eddie's hand in theirs as they carefully apply the polish, one layer at a time. Some of the colors dry so quickly, as soon as Venom finishes the other hand, they can start again at the beginning. 

At first the waiting is a little tedious, but Eddie stays patient for Venom's sake. But over time, it becomes something else. Something he actually looks forward to every day. Eddie finds a quiet moment when he doesn't have to work or run out the door, and then it's just the two of them existing in their own little bubble.

Venom collects more colors over time. Aquamarine and a muted violet and a peachy sunset. They also ask Eddie for a few specific things. Dotting tools and stencils and peel off base coat. Eddie has to order them on the internet, but when they arrive, Venom starts wiggling in a happy noodle dance and won't stop until Eddie has a moment to let them try everything out.

When they finish, Eddie's nails are decorated with handpainted hearts and dots, and (almost) perfectly straight stripes and stars (stencils are haarrrd) and a banana that amuses Venom way too much.

"You are a strange little worm," Eddie teases, and Venom smooshes themself against his face and drags a slimey tongue against his neck in some messy semblance of a kiss that never fails to make him laugh.

The next day, Venom wants to do new designs. Instead of grabbing the nail polish remover like usual, they start carefully picking at the edge of Eddie's nail.

"What are you doing?" Eddie asks, but he isn't overly concerned.

**_Peel off base coat,_ ** Venom says, and then manages to lift an edge of the polish. Slowly, the entire design lifts up until at least it comes off in one clean piece. Venom shudders all over.  **_Peel porn,_ ** the symbiote hisses, shivering as it begins to peel another.

"Peel porn," Eddie repeats. "You are a strange, strange, depraved little worm," he says, but he can't deny that it's oddly satisfying to see the polish peel off in clean chunks.

Venom puts all of the little peelings into a neat pile on the table as they continue. When every last fleck is collected, Venom scoops them up in a tendril and takes a long moment to admire all of the multi-colored, glittery little peelings, and then eats them.

"V… what… did… Did you just  _ eat... _ ? Of course you did. May I just ask,  **_why???"_ **

**_I want to keep them forever._ **

Eddie sits back in his seat, unsure of how to even reply to that. "I… Okay."

And with that settled, Venom picks a fresh color and starts painting again.

  


\---

  


**_Nail time?_ ** Venom asks the next day, pausing their YouTube video when they notice Eddie is done with his work.

"Yeah," Eddie says, stretching out the stiffness in his back.  "I think so."

Little black tendrils immediately shoot across the room to retrieve the nail kit, already uncapping two different colors.

"Interview tomorrow, V," Eddie reminds them. "Need to look professional."

Venom pauses, and then the noodles slump a little.

**_Understand, Eddie. Will get the polish all off. We can paint tomorrow, after you're done?_ **

"Sure, we can do something fun after," Eddie agrees. "For the interview, I'm thinking black."

**_Black?_ ** Venom repeats, surprised.

"Yeah. Black is professional, right?"

The symbiote stares at him with beady little white eyes, blinks slowly once, and then in a flash, recaps the two colors they'd chosen and grabs the black and gunmetal and some striping tape.

**_Yes. Black is very professional._ **

  


\---

  


Eddie doesn't really give much thought to anyone noticing the painted nails.

Ms. Chen makes a game of guessing what colors Eddie will have whenever she sees him. She gets her guesses right a couple times, and cheers and compliments how nice they look. He leaves her a tip.

Sometimes people openly gawk, but sustained eye contact is usually enough to make them mind their own business. Worst case scenario, a loud,  _ 'Got a problem?' _ makes them think twice.

But surprisingly, more often than not, they get compliments. A flock of teens pass by on the street while he has a coffee in his hand, and one of the girls does a double take and pulls her boyfriend with her to get a closer look. "Hey, sorry, I like your nails! Are they painted or press-on?" she questions. 

"Painted."  Eddie stops to let her see. The way her eyes sparkle and jaw drops from surprise into a huge grin, he knows he has a fan. Not of him, but of nail art. Today's theme was  _ space,  _ and as easy as V had made it look, Eddie was pretty sure he couldn't replicate the miniature galaxies if he tried.

"Wow! Did you do them yourself?" she asks, and the rest of the flock, noticing that two of their friends have stopped, come over to see.

"Nah. My partner practices their nail art on me," Eddie says.

"Professional?"

"Just a hobby."

"Well, tell them it's really, really good!" she exclaims.

"I will," Eddie beams at her, and then waits another moment to let her friends take a peek as well. They ask if his partner has an instagram account, and he tells them no, but that isn't a terrible idea, and then they all part ways.

"Hey, V," Eddie says, as soon as they've gone another block, and are well out of earshot. He can feel the symbiote coiled deep in his chest, burning hotter than usual.  "Your nail art is really, really good."

**_Eddiiiiieee…_ **

"And I think we should make you an instagram account, so we can take  _ pictures _ of what you make, and share them with the internet, and then we'll have those  _ pictures _ to remember your beautiful art forever, and you can stop _ eating  _ it. How about that?"

**_Never. But yes. Like that idea very much._ **

  


\---

  


**_You know what would make this even better?_ ** Venom asks, every time they finish painting Eddie's nails.

Eddie takes a breath and lets it out. "A holo tac--"

**_A HOLO TACO._ **

And then Venom slathers as much glitter as they possibly can over whatever design they'd just finished, until his nails are practically a disco ball.

But Venom's right.

Holo  _ does _ make everything look better.

  


\---

  


The next day, Venom doesn't ask that question.

**_All done,_ ** they chirp when the last layer is set, and Eddie just stares.

"Are you forgetting something?"

**_Mmph. Nope. All done,_ ** Venom repeats, putting their supplies away into the kit that Eddie had bought for them.

Eddie wiggles his fingers in the air thoughtfully. "Feels like this could use a little more… pizazz."

Venom makes a show of peeking inside of the nail kit, before closing it.  **_Don't have any 'pizazz', Eddie. You should buy me some._ **

"Hmmmmmmmm. How about that holo top coat that you used yesterday?"

**_Mmmm. No. No, doesn't need any holo._ **

"I thought everything was better with holo," Eddie presses.

**_I don't need any today._ **

"Don't need any? Or you've already had your _fill?"_ Eddie asks, narrowing his eyes.

**_Don't know what you mean, Eddie._ **

"Oh you don't? So that wasn't you choking down your entire bottle of holo glitter last night when you thought I was asleep?"

**_Doesn't sound like me at all..._ **

"The  _ bottle _ , V! You swallowed the  _ bottle." _

**_I was proving a POINT!_ **

"What point?!"

**_Cristine said there's no such thing as edible holo glitter, but anything is edible if you eat it!_ **

"It doesn't mean you  _ can't _ eat it, it means you  _ shouldn't!" _

**_Well, why NOT?!_ **

"Because now you have to wait until I have the money to buy you another one."

Eddie never knew that a symbiote could cry.

  


\---

-

\---

  


**_I have ten instagram followers, Eddie._ **

"Congrats, V," Eddie says, focused more on his work than on the black coiling around his forearm. When Venom pushes against his palm, he stops typing long enough to give them a little stroke, and then tries to resume his work.

**_Eddiiiee_ ** , Venom whines, bumping insistently against his hand, like a cat demanding attention.

"Working, love," Eddie says, but stops and lifts his hand again to give Venom another caress.

**_Ten, Eddie,_ ** Venom repeats.

"That's awesome. You'll be famous before you know it," Eddie says. "You're gonna have more fans than me."

Venom purrs in content, but Eddie can tell that Venom doesn't care so much about chasing fame.

**_Is that enough?_ **

"For what?"

**_To buy a new bottle of holo._ **

Eddie stops for real now, sitting back in his chair. Venom won't manifest enough to look at him, but they twist around his arms in restless little swirls, waiting for an answer.

"Tell you what. I'll go buy you another tonight, before the shops close, as long as you promise me one thing."

The swirls of black go still, vibrating against his skin.  **_What is that?_ **

"Don't eat it."

Venom is quiet.

"V?"

**_I can't promise that._ **

  


**Author's Note:**

> The time-out scene was heavily based on [this adorable animated fanart](http://codepami.tumblr.com/post/180681237011/punish) by codepami on tumblr. Give them lots of love!!!
> 
> "Holo taco" = A clear top coat with holographic glitter.  
> I learned everything I know about nail polish from [Simply Nailogical](https://www.youtube.com/user/simplynailogical) and I think if Venom binged enough youtube videos, they'd end up finding her channel and becoming holosexual as well (someone obsessed with holo glitter).


End file.
